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Celebration Time. Members of the Wilton volleyball team celebrate after the final point is won sending
Wilton to their second straight state tournament. Pictured are l-r: back, Alexa Garvin, Mallory Lange
(16), Ella Caffery (12), and Kelsey Drake (1). Front row: Taylor Drayfahl (5), Taylor Garvin, and Joann
Martin (7). Photo by Ryan Stonebraker.
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By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor
DURANT — Last year the Beavers had to travel to Cedar Rapids and take on the top-ranked team in Class 2A, Grundy Center in a Regional Final. There, the Beavers advanced to the 2018 state tournament winning by an upset in four sets. Last week, Wilton again had to travel for a 2A Regional Final. However, this year, the Beavers only had to go down the road to Durant. There, they faced a familiar foe in fellow River Valley Conference South foe West Branch. The result was the same. Wilton beat the Bears in four sets, to advance to the state tournament for the second straight season. Wilton improved to 35-3 and earned the No. 3 seed at state. The Beavers are the No. 3 seed. They will play the No. 6 seed, Clarion-Gold eld- Dows at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday. CGD is ranked No. 7. The winner of that match will play the winner of No. 3 and second-seeded Beckman and No. 8 and seventh-seeded Van Buren in a 2A semifinal at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.
The Bears end the season 21-16 under first-year coach Loren Hammerand. Though the Bears lost 16 matches, they did only lost three or more matches in a row once.
“Our girls were playing under a first-year coach and the first time we played them it felt like we didn’t have everything in yet,” said Hammerand.
“We gave them our best shot tonight.”
Wilton won the first set 25-21 and the second set 25-22 in two closely contested sets to take a 2-0 match lead. West Branch broke through and claimed the third set 25-19 to cut the Beavers lead to 2-1 in the match. Wilton however, ended the match in four sets, claiming the last set 25-13 to win the match 3-1.
“These girls, they don’t get too high and they don’t get too low,” Wilton coach Brenda Grunder said. “They just keep chipping away and do a lot of great things.”
“I would say we played really well leading up to the Tipton and West Liberty matches early in the season and then we kind of plateaued a little bit. Ever since that moment, I believe we have followed that upward trajectory to where we want to be,” Grunder said.
The loss snapped a two-match win streak by West Branch. West Branch advanced to the Regional Final round for the first time since 2015 when they advanced to the state tournament, playing all the way to the Final Four before losing to Western Christian. That year, the Bears were 36-6. West Branch beat Alburnett 3-1 in the regional quarterfinals, and RVC North champion Cascade 3-0 at Cascade in the regional semifinals.
The rst set was close with tie scores at 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15. West Branch took an 18-15 lead after three service points from Chloe Pence. The Beavers would outscore the Bears 10-3 however to claim the set 25-21. With the score 21- 20 Wilton, Kelsey Drake had three straight kills to give Wilton a 24-20 lead. The second set was close with neither team getting more than a three-point lead until late in the set. Wilton led by four points twice late, 21-17 and 23-19 before winning the second set by three points, 25-22 to claim a 2-0 match lead. West Branch broke away from Wilton in a close third set to take an 11-8 lead. The Bears kept rolling, taking a 10-point, 23-13 lead before settling for a 25-19 third set win. In the fourth set, Wilton took a 7-2 lead before the Bears came back. West Branch got within two points at 11-9 and three points later, at 14-11, but the Beavers outscored the Bears 11-2 the rest of the way to claim the set and the match.
The Bears had 52 kills in the match and three players reached double digits. Kaiya Luneckas and Lexi Klinkhammer led with 15 kills each and Delaynie Luneckas had 10. Nicki Henson led in assists with 43 and digs with 12. The Bears served 72-for-82 in the match with 10 ace serves. Henson led going 16-for-17 with two aces. Chloe Pence was next, serving 14-for-17 with three aces.
The Bears lost to Wilton at home on September 12. The loss was the Bears’ third straight after starting the season 5-2. West Branch would win ve straight after the September loss to the Beavers.
Wilton was led by a pair of sophomores in Kelsey Drake and Ella Caffery. Both combined for 27 of the 47 Beaver kills in the match, 39 of the 41 assists and they combined to serve a perfect 33-for- 33 with six aces combined. Drake had 24 kills, 14 assists, six digs and led Wilton in serves, going 20-for-20 with three aces. Caffery had 13 kills, 25 assists, 15 digs, and served 13-for-13 with three aces. Taylor Garvin added six kills while Mallory Lange had a team-high of 21 digs.
West Branch will say goodbye to two seniors, Aubrey Baylor and Kaiya Luneckas. Luneckas led West Branch in kills this year with 327. She was third on the team in blocks with 61. Luneckas also had 185 digs. Baylor had one-dig and had one serve opportunity.
Wilton 3, West Branch 1 Tuesday, November 5 At Durant
West Branch Statistics:
Attacks (98-for-109 52 kills): Kaiya Luneckas 28-for- 36 15 kills, Lexi Klinkhammer 31-for-33 15 kills, Delaynie Luneckas 15-for-16 10 kills, Jaclyn Bloem 16-for-16 8 kills, Iva Senio 4-for-4 3 kills, Chloe Pence 4-for-4 1 kill. Assists (46): Nicki Henson 43, Lexie Peak 3. Digs (48): Nicki Henson 12, Lexie Peak 11, Lexi Klinkhammer 9, Chloe Pence 5, Iva Senio 4, Kaiya Lunecaks 4, Jaclyn Bloem 2, Delaynie Luneckas 1. Blocks (6): Jaclyn Bloem 2, Lexi Klinkhammer 1, Delaynie Luneckas 1, Kaiya Luneckas 1, Chloe Pence 1. Serving (72-for-82 10 aces): Nicki Henson 16-for-17 2 aces, Chloe Pence 14-for-17 3 aces, Alex Poppen 13-for-14, Lexie Peak 11- for-13 3 aces, Lexi Klinkhammer 9-for-11 2 aces, Jaclyn Bloem 9-for-10.
Wilton Statistics:
Attacks (93-for-111 47 kills): Kelsey Drake 43-for-49 24 kills, Ella Caffery 27-for-31 13 kills, Taylor Garvin 12-for- 18 6 kills, Alexa Garvin 10-for-10 3 kills, Joann Martin 1-for-2 1 kill, Olivia Oveson 0-for-1. Assists (41): Ella Caffery 25, Kelsey Drake 14, Alexa Garvin 2. Digs (64): Mallory Lange 21, Ella Caffery 15, Alexa Garvin 13, Taylor Garvin 7, Kelsey Drake 6, Joann Martin 2. Blocks (5): Ella Caffery 2, Kelsey Drake 2, Olivia Oveson 1. Serving (88-for-91 12 aces): Kelsey Drake 20-for-20 3 aces, Mallory Lange 19-for-20 1 ace, Taylor Garvin 15- for-15 3 aces, Alexa Garvin 15-for-15 2 aces, Ella Caffery 13-for-13 3 aces, Peyton Souhrada 5-for-6, McKen- zie Pallischeck 1-for-2.
“I would say we played really well leading up to the Tipton and West Liberty matches early in the season and then we kind of plateaued a little bit. Ever since that moment, I believe we have followed that upward trajectory to where we want to be,” Grunder said.
The loss snapped a two-match win streak by West Branch. West Branch advanced to the Regional Final round for the first time since 2015 when they advanced to the state tournament, playing all the way to the Final Four before losing to Western Christian. That year, the Bears were 36-6. West Branch beat Alburnett 3-1 in the regional quarterfinals, and RVC North champion Cascade 3-0 at Cascade in the regional semifinals.
The rst set was close with tie scores at 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15. West Branch took an 18-15 lead after three service points from Chloe Pence. The Beavers would outscore the Bears 10-3 however to claim the set 25-21. With the score 21- 20 Wilton, Kelsey Drake had three straight kills to give Wilton a 24-20 lead. The second set was close with neither team getting more than a three-point lead until late in the set. Wilton led by four points twice late, 21-17 and 23-19 before winning the second set by three points, 25-22 to claim a 2-0 match lead. West Branch broke away from Wilton in a close third set to take an 11-8 lead. The Bears kept rolling, taking a 10-point, 23-13 lead before settling for a 25-19 third set win. In the fourth set, Wilton took a 7-2 lead before the Bears came back. West Branch got within two points at 11-9 and three points later, at 14-11, but the Beavers outscored the Bears 11-2 the rest of the way to claim the set and the match.
The Bears had 52 kills in the match and three players reached double digits. Kaiya Luneckas and Lexi Klinkhammer led with 15 kills each and Delaynie Luneckas had 10. Nicki Henson led in assists with 43 and digs with 12. The Bears served 72-for-82 in the match with 10 ace serves. Henson led going 16-for-17 with two aces. Chloe Pence was next, serving 14-for-17 with three aces.
The Bears lost to Wilton at home on September 12. The loss was the Bears’ third straight after starting the season 5-2. West Branch would win ve straight after the September loss to the Beavers.
Wilton was led by a pair of sophomores in Kelsey Drake and Ella Caffery. Both combined for 27 of the 47 Beaver kills in the match, 39 of the 41 assists and they combined to serve a perfect 33-for- 33 with six aces combined. Drake had 24 kills, 14 assists, six digs and led Wilton in serves, going 20-for-20 with three aces. Caffery had 13 kills, 25 assists, 15 digs, and served 13-for-13 with three aces. Taylor Garvin added six kills while Mallory Lange had a team-high of 21 digs.
West Branch will say goodbye to two seniors, Aubrey Baylor and Kaiya Luneckas. Luneckas led West Branch in kills this year with 327. She was third on the team in blocks with 61. Luneckas also had 185 digs. Baylor had one-dig and had one serve opportunity.
Wilton 3, West Branch 1 Tuesday, November 5 At Durant
West Branch Statistics:
Attacks (98-for-109 52 kills): Kaiya Luneckas 28-for- 36 15 kills, Lexi Klinkhammer 31-for-33 15 kills, Delaynie Luneckas 15-for-16 10 kills, Jaclyn Bloem 16-for-16 8 kills, Iva Senio 4-for-4 3 kills, Chloe Pence 4-for-4 1 kill. Assists (46): Nicki Henson 43, Lexie Peak 3. Digs (48): Nicki Henson 12, Lexie Peak 11, Lexi Klinkhammer 9, Chloe Pence 5, Iva Senio 4, Kaiya Lunecaks 4, Jaclyn Bloem 2, Delaynie Luneckas 1. Blocks (6): Jaclyn Bloem 2, Lexi Klinkhammer 1, Delaynie Luneckas 1, Kaiya Luneckas 1, Chloe Pence 1. Serving (72-for-82 10 aces): Nicki Henson 16-for-17 2 aces, Chloe Pence 14-for-17 3 aces, Alex Poppen 13-for-14, Lexie Peak 11- for-13 3 aces, Lexi Klinkhammer 9-for-11 2 aces, Jaclyn Bloem 9-for-10.
Wilton Statistics:
Attacks (93-for-111 47 kills): Kelsey Drake 43-for-49 24 kills, Ella Caffery 27-for-31 13 kills, Taylor Garvin 12-for- 18 6 kills, Alexa Garvin 10-for-10 3 kills, Joann Martin 1-for-2 1 kill, Olivia Oveson 0-for-1. Assists (41): Ella Caffery 25, Kelsey Drake 14, Alexa Garvin 2. Digs (64): Mallory Lange 21, Ella Caffery 15, Alexa Garvin 13, Taylor Garvin 7, Kelsey Drake 6, Joann Martin 2. Blocks (5): Ella Caffery 2, Kelsey Drake 2, Olivia Oveson 1. Serving (88-for-91 12 aces): Kelsey Drake 20-for-20 3 aces, Mallory Lange 19-for-20 1 ace, Taylor Garvin 15- for-15 3 aces, Alexa Garvin 15-for-15 2 aces, Ella Caffery 13-for-13 3 aces, Peyton Souhrada 5-for-6, McKen- zie Pallischeck 1-for-2.
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